Amelia Evremonde
"You will not harm those I have sworn to protect. Stand behind me, friends! A knight of Bretonnia will be your shield." Amelia was born to the noble house of Evremonde in the duchy of Couronne, her family holding residence in the city of Couronne. As a noble daughter of Bretonnia, she was expected to learn the ways of a courtly lady and for many years she did - even becoming one of the more talented weavers in the castle. However, even as a child her heart was far more excited by the sight of lance, sword and mace than needlework and courtly gossip. The eldest of four children - Clara, Zoé and Eriq being her younger siblings. Her parents, Tumas and Katerine, were loving and respected among the city. Katerine in particular was rather unconventional for a noblewoman of Bretonnia and encouraged her daughter's own unconventional interests - and Tumas saw little harm in this either, despite the strange looks and remarks that were made at their family's expense. From a young age, the girl admired in particular Repanse de Lyonesse - the female knight of legend. Amelia was taught how to ride a horse as a man would, and even began basic training with the weapons of a knight. Her parents thought this would be a phase that would pass, but what surprised them and Amelia's tutors was the aptitude she showed. She was tireless in her enthusiasm and earnest in her dedication. She showed true skill in sword, mace and lance - and was a skilled rider, able to comfortably command the hulking purebreeds of Bretonnia. Amelia became reputed for her skill with a shield though, and was able to leverage it as a weapon in ways that caught other knights off guard. Among the other Knights-Errant, she became known as the 'Shield Maiden' - a title of honour that had since fallen out of use in Bretonnia. Despite it being a dated honourific, the others used the term with sarcasm and disdain. Which was to be expected - the men she bested in the melee ring had to come up with some way to maintain their pride. There were few dishonours greater in Bretonnia than being bested in combat by a woman. More than this though, was her commitment to The Lady. All her life, the girl had felt that the goddess of Bretonnia was watching over, empowering her spirit and guiding her path. Amelia garnered a reputation as a true devotee of The Lady, and was considered very stubborn due to the conviction of her religious fervor. As she matured into her early teens, Amelia would not deter from the path she believed The Lady had set for her - which was the path of knighthood. This surprised even her parents, but they could not encourage this any further as it simply was not a woman's role in Bretonnia. Even Amelia herself begin to doubt her place until she met Gulliaume Ardinot - a wandering knight who had chosen to make Couronne his home for a time. The knight was beyond eccentric and did not see Amelia's gender as an obstacle in any way, shape or form. He saw in the young woman a true devotee of The Lady - and took her under his wing. Where none in the city would deign to train and guide the young Amelia, Guillaume happily took to the task. It was he who taught the girl the finer points of swordplay, but also he who truly connected her to her faith. The girl of nineteen prayed for many days and nights, spending much of her time in the Abbey of the Twelve Companions. Gulliaume prayed alongside her and the two became close friends. Finally, she was visited by what she believed to be a vision from The Lady herself - and Amelia knew what she must do. In the upcoming tourney in Couronne, Amelia would enter the lists reserved for only the Knights Errant, but she would do so as a man. Amelia was a capable warrior for someone of her years, but she had proven an exceptional lancer as well. It was soon after this that Gulliaume had decided his time in Couronne had come to an end, and wandered from the city as mysteriously as he had come. The woman would always ponder what had become of her dear friend... So the day of the tourney came, and the youngest knights of Couronne came to show their skills. Amelia entered as a 'mystery knight' as she did not want to bear her house's heraldry. Throughout the day, she unhorsed knight-errant after knight-errant. So at last came down to her and another in the final - the mystery knight had become a favourite among the crowd and the feeling of her people cheering was unlike anything she had ever felt. She prepared herself for her final joust. Then, Amelia saw her. The would-be-knight had been so focused on the joust that she had not cast an eye to the crowd all morning. However, her gaze came to lay upon King Louen's daughter, Isabellis, and from that moment Amelia knew that she was in love. The mystery knight prayed to The Lady for the strength to emerge victorious, and so she did - unhorsing her opponent on the third tilt. The crowd went wild with joy for their masked hero and they pressed Amelia to doff her full-helm so that they might know the identity of their champion. The young Amelia, so exhilarated by her victory rode up and down the lists, taking in the glory. Before she would reveal herself, she was handed a champion's pennant and favour, and as was customary, Amelia rode towards the crowd to bestow the favour upon one in the crowd. The young woman had only one person in mind. Amelia rode towards the stands and halted before the resplendent Princess Isabellis, handing to her the Champion's favour. The royal daughter smiled warmly, and dubbed the victor the 'Princess Guard', much to the adulation of the attendants. At last, she bade the masked knight to reveal himself - and so she did... The crowd went silent as Amelia removed her helm and lowered her chain hood, pulling free her tied hair. Immediately, the young knight knew she had erred. Soon, a combination of laughter and outrage came upon the crowd. Amelia stared at her beloved princess, who only looked back with a mixture of curiosity and pity. Yet, the humiliated knight considered it a blessing from The Lady that Isabellis held no scorn in her eyes. Soon, Amelia could bear the sounds of the crowd no longer, and before they could be calmed she rode free of the tourney grounds - fleeing to her ancestral home. She knew then exactly what she had to do. Amelia Evremonde strode towards the armory and inside found her family's ancestral weapon - an ancient battleaxe that was only ever bestowed upon the house's most worthy knights. She ripped the axe free from it's holdings and quickly gathered supplies before anyone could stop her. The young woman fled from Couronne atop her prized destrier, Glory, wielding the ancestral weapon of her house. Amelia knew that her destiny was to be a knight of Bretonnia - The Lady had never deterred her from such a path. The young woman rode from the city, and stopped at one of the sacred sites in Couronne - swearing then and there her Knight's Vow. Amelia would prove to the city of Couronne that they were wrong to humiliate her, she would prove to her family that she was deserving of their ancestral weapon, and she would prove to Isabellis that she was worthy of her love. Amelia knew The Lady would be with her - every step of the way. She planned to travel to the Empire, which was not a expansive journey but all the same, Amelia would not leave her beloved homeland for some time. In order then to make her trip as painless as possible, she tied her hair and hid it beneath a leather and chain coif - posing as a man. While Amelia did not have a masculine shape to her - the Bretonnian people were so aghast at the concept of a female knight that they would happily convince themselves that Amelia was just a feminine man as opposed to the truth. Once in the Empire, she was able to more comfortably reveal her identity. For some time, she travelled were she would, seeking to right wrongs as she found them. However, the land of the Empire was alien and strange to the Bretonnian and many she encountered found her alien and strange herself. Finally, she came to a village that been having trouble with intermittent attackers - Goblins and Beastmen that had grown daring. However, the Knight-Errant had little real experience tracking her prey in the wild. The town had already recruited one hunter to aid them - an uncharacteristically grim Halfling by the name of Gabriel. Amelia had never encountered one of the small folk, and had initially assumed he was some form of Goblin himself. She was soon corrected, and was surprised at his own skill at arms - even if his tactics lacked the honour of a Bretonnian knight. Amelia approached the halfing and offered her own services to aid in his task - initially Gabriel was reluctant to give up a share of the payment he was receiving. The lady of Bretonnia was offended by the idea of her accepting coin for her aid, and said that the honour was more than payment enough. The halfling quickly realized this arrangement was more than ideal. So it was that the pair became the town's wardens and hunters - and came to find camaraderie in each other. The halfling was not exactly a joyous character, but Amelia found his demeanor curious and attractive in its own way. Soon, the pair would encounter the devoted Sister of Sigmar, Mileena - a woman who in many ways seemed forged from the same steel as Amelia - and the halfing traveller, Gilwise Greenhill - a plucky halfling who was the polar opposite of Gabriel. Mileena had saved the naive halfling from a Goblin attack just a few leagues from the town. Amelia of Bretonnia would fall at the hands of foul Ghouls in the sewers of Nuln. The brave knight dying to secure the escape of her companions. She met her end as a true knight of The Lady.